All Things Photonics

The almighty nanoparticle known as the quantum dot is enjoying its moment in the sun — after innovations involving its discovery and development earned three photochemists a share of the Nobel Prize in chemistry earlier this fall. Peter Lodahl, head of the Quantum Photonics Group at the University of Copenhagen/NielsBohr Institute, director of the Danish National Research Foundation Center for Hybrid Quantum Networks, and founder of Sparrow Quantum, sheds light on the durability of quantum dots. Sparrow, a developer of quantum light-matter interfaces, has pioneered quantum dot-based technology to support the pursuit of at-scale photonic quantum computing.

About 20 years ago, Hongxing Jiang and Jingyu Lin published a paper describing the microLED. Since the publishing of that seminal work, microLEDs have seen commercialization in automotive and industrial lighting applications, but for much of that time, Jiang and Lin’s envisioned application in display technology had been simmering on the backburner. Now, the technology is becoming a household name. With the holiday season approaching, consumers shopping for a new TV are noticing that the top of the line isn’t just populated with OLED models. While manufacturing challenges remain, microLEDs offer a wonderful marriage of efficiency, brightness, and sheer possibility, even beyond display and lighting applications. In this episode, Jiang and Lin discuss the path from paper to commercialization, and the road ahead and what possibilities the future holds.

Peter O’Brien, director of the PIXAPP Photonics Packaging Pilot Line and head of the photonics packaging group at the Tyndall Institute, overviews the current state of integrated photonics technologies, as well as core considerations in the sector. Focus is given to packaging, heterogeneous integration, and dynamic collaboration. David McGovern, senior business development manager with the Irish Photonic Integration Centre (IPIC [Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Photonics]) and deputy chairperson of Medphab, joins the conversation to discuss the bridge between commercial and industry needs and high-level R&D.

“All Things Photonics” broadcasts from SPIE Optifab 2023 in Rochester, N.Y. In this episode from the heart of the optics industry, we speak with Chunlei Guo, from the University of Rochster’s Institute of Optics, and Carolyn McMorran, from central Florida’s Valencia College. Guo and his collaborators recently advanced their acclaimed fano-resonant optical coating technology, and our conversation spotlights the advance and its significance. McMorran is leading Valencia College’s new optics program, an American Center for Optics Manufacturing (AmeriCOM) photonics technician training initiative that follows successful implementations in Rochester and Colorado.

Photonic technologies like lab-on-a-chip are taking out a lot of the head-scratching and tedium that goes along with traditional diagnostic methods, giving patients and clinicians access to technology that is cheaper, quicker, and often more reliable. Andrea Armani, the Ray Irani Chair in Engineering and Materials Science at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, is working at the forefront of this exciting technology and others that promise to revolutionize the world of medicine. In this episode, Armani discusses the current landscape of lab-on-a-chip technology, optogenetics, and the current and potential capabilities of both. She also discusses the path to commercialization, and what these advancements in nanomedicine may mean for the future.

Longtime photonics market analyst and current industry adviser Tom Hausken delivers his expert insights into top-of-mind trends and drivers for the photonics sector. The prevalence of AI in and for photonics technologies permeates a conversation that also explores integrated photonics workforce development, government and policy perspectives, and technological competitiveness.

The Precise Advanced Technologies and Health Systems for Underserved Populations initiative, or PATHS-UP, aims to integrate engineering research and education with technological innovation to transform national prosperity, health, and security. The National Science Foundation-funded collaboration also extends into industry, to ensure that positive R&D outcomes ascend into use in the wider community.

In a panel discussion, host Jake Saltzman is joined by Samuel Mabbott, assistant professor in the Texas A&M Department of Biomedical Engineering; Cyril Soliman, who earned his Ph.D. under Mabbott in the Texas A&M Biomedical Optics Lab and drove much of the research on the initiative; and Michael Matthews, vice president of the spectroscopy division at Wasatch Photonics. The trio served as key players on a portion of PATHS-UP-supported work that involves the development of a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy technology that targets the detection of core biomarkers at the point of care.

"All Things Photonics"® is produced by Photonics Media and airs biweekly, on Tuesdays.

Microelectronics technology innovation and, more notably, recent legislation have brought to the fore the need for a unified strategy to ensure sustained positive outcomes in today’s semiconductor environment. Walter Burgess, co-CEO, Sales & Engineering at Power Technology Inc., is helping to spearhead many of the efforts that business and technology leaders in Arkansas are commencing to ensure they can best-leverage opportunities stemming from 2022’s Chips and Science Act. In this episode, Burgess overviews his state’s opportunity following passage of the act, and he discusses the link between optics and photonics and semiconductor-driven economic progress.

“All Things Photonics” ® is produced by Photonics Media and airs biweekly, on Tuesdays.

As separate disciplines, quantum science and integrated photonics are pushing the bounds of possibility in communication science, compute, data processing, and more. In tandem, the two realms are highly complementary. Matt Eichenfield, the SPIE Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences and associate professor of optical sciences at the University of Arizona Wyant College of Optical Sciences, spotlights quantum integrated photonics with a focus on applications and a look into the future of the field.

"All Things Photonics"® is produced by Photonics Media and airs biweekly, on Tuesdays.

The changing nature of the "optics shop" — and, more broadly, its role in the optics and photonics industry today — is an effective gauge for tracking how optics workforce development is aligned to the ever-evolving needs of the industry. Recounting his own 40-plus-year professional journey, Paul Melone, global optics manufacturing director at Thorlabs, discusses his company’s ties to AmeriCOM (American Center for Optics Manufacturing) and how Thorlabs aims to identify and cultivate optics industry talent. Melone also discusses the company’s 2023 acquisition of Rochester, N.Y.-based JML Optical.